I recall the description as having come from a tobacco implement of some sort. I bought it from Ralph back in January.
That's all I know.
I bolt my "rear bench seat" to it for the kid's to ride on.
Peter

Now that is what I mean. There is always a different approach to making stuff. I like the base. Also, for those who do not have a nice smooth concrete floor, the pneumatic type tires with base plate mount can be used as an option.

I see you have Aaron - right? (I is as he is standing on the base...?) and Emily involved in stirring up the Witch's Brew Well done.. tell them the get an A++

I like your approach.. looking forward to your report on cleaning up after the zapping process. A family affair.. I likes it

george wrote:I would have disposal concerns with that sludge if there is lead in any of the old paints. Does anyone know?George

No one knows for sure, but I will tell you that it takes a lot of lead (a whole lot) to produce a soil issue. A trick I learned from my late uncle was to use the stuff that the state/township/and borough used as an anti-skid during the winter as a soil amendment. It gets crushed by the tires of the cars to a fine silt, and silt is sorely lacking in our soils around here. One year, and one year only, the tomatoes tasted bad. Uncle Joe took a soil sample from his compost heap (he always let his set for a year before incorporating it into the garden), and the PADA said that it tested high for lead. Joe talked to the borough guys, and they said that that particular year, they accepted ash from the cogeneration facilities which burn a mixture called culm (basically coal dirt).......hence the increased lead......He then took a tomato to the PADA, and they said it was fine.......just tasted lousy. The next year, enough lead had leached out of my soil that it was no longer a problem. The tomatoes tasted great again.

I don't know of any plant that picks up lead and distributes it into the plant tissues. Lead is also on the micronutrient list. Unless you're considering planting in an old skeet range, I'd say you're safe. Additionally, Lead Phosphate is a very stable salt, which, once created, usually does not break apart into its constituents again....just some thoughts.......

Yep Rudi, I turned the whole thing into a science project for us. I printed off the article on electrolysis by Jim Becker from the Cub Manual Server plus the article from Bill's Antique Engines (http://antique-engines.com/electrol.asp) and had them read them. The electrons and protons are a little above them right now (above me for that matter as well) but seeing with our own eyes what the articles describe as happening sure makes a world of difference. Plus, the added benefit of seeing a practical use for something that otherwise would only be words on a page. That's education at it's finest.
Peter

Peter Person wrote: The electrons and protons are a little above them right now (above me for that matter as well) but seeing with our own eyes what the articles describe as happening sure makes a world of difference. Plus, the added benefit of seeing a practical use for something that otherwise would only be words on a page. That's education at it's finest.Peter

Peter....

Make an electric spark for them....plenty easy to do.....then tell them that what they saw was an electron (or several).......

After doing so, explain that these sparky-things travel through wires under some sort of pressure, like water in a faucet, and that is what powers lights, TV's video games, and computers.

It's as good an explanation of electrons as you can give to a young person, and, for the most part is correct, from a practical point of view.

The only point in time when these conceptions need to be fine-tuned would be when studying particle-physics, as a high-school senior, or later in university, and at that point, they also use an electric spark as a demonstration. Since you are home-schooling, getting them familiar with electrons as sparks is not a bad thing. You may have to repeat the experiment for them later, in a different context.........

george wrote:I would have disposal concerns with that sludge if there is lead in any of the old paints. Does anyone know?George

I don't know of any plant that picks up lead and distributes it into the plant tissues. Lead is also on the micronutrient list. Unless you're considering planting in an old skeet range, I'd say you're safe. Additionally, Lead Phosphate is a very stable salt, which, once created, usually does not break apart into its constituents again....just some thoughts.......

Bio-availability of metals in soils depends on soil pH and soil composition - particularly the organic and clay content - and the plants being grown. Preliminary studies have shown ragweed does an outstanding job of bioacculumating lead but disposal of the ragweed crop becomes the next concern.

"Chance favors the prepared mind." - Louis Pasteur

"In character, in manners, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity." - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Lurker Carl wrote:Bio-availability of metals in soils depends on soil pH and soil composition - particularly the organic and clay content - and the plants being grown. Preliminary studies have shown ragweed does an outstanding job of bioacculumating lead but disposal of the ragweed crop becomes the next concern.

Of course, ragweed is a noxious crop....perhaps more dangerous than the lead itself.......

Cutting it before bloom, of course, would minimize this......but as you say, what do you do with it?? Well, one could bale it, and use it as a mulch on floral farms.....as long as you didn't do it consistently......if it picked up enough, it could be burned and the ash smelted for the lead, I suppose....

Of course, all the business about lead is a bit of an overkill........I wholeheartedly agree that the removal of lead water pipes, and the removal of lead from paints was a good thing.......the two major vectors of high-lead levels in children. But, to have removed lead from plumbing solder, I think, was going too far.......In many cases the exposed solder in a plumbing joint was virtually nill.